Archive for February, 2009
Play Nice
Want a chance to win a cool prize and do something nice at the same time? Well then head over to Artsy Fartsy Shopaholic and enter her latest giveaway. In support of her friend and champion of universal kindness (Melissa of Operation NICE), she’s giving a random winner their choice of two Operation NICE prints from Melissa’s etsy shop and collecting anecdotes about when you’ve relied on the kindness of your friends.
Sweet, right? I dare you not to smile every time you look at one of those prints above your desk or in your entryway. Just head over and comment at Artsy Fartsy Shopaholic to officially enter the giveaway. You’ve got ’til 6pm EST on Monday, Feb 23rd!
Images courtesy of Operation NICE via Artsy Farsty Shopaholic
Lindsay’s Design Dilemma
When Lindsay and Ryan came to us for help sprucing up their blank slate of a dining room we got right down to business. Here’s her letter:
My fiance, Ryan, and I just bought a cute little 1950s house and we’re completely stuck on the big blank space that is the dining room. I like a comfy/casual/simple look, but I also like having some bright/eclectic/eye catching pieces or accessories around (kinda Pottery Barn meets CB2). Ryan would certainly appreciate it if there was some bright saturated color. We’d love a solid, chunky wood, dining table (I’ve been eyeing the “Lugano” table) and as for chairs, something sleek and padded with a pop of color is great. The peach wall color has to go and the dining room opens up to the living room which will house our two monster couches that are kind of an olive-y green with tan piping, so the wall color shouldn’t clash too horribly with those, but other than that we’re pretty open. Should the dining room and living room be the same color? The dining room has recessed lighting, but I’m all ears if you think we should add something else there too. What should we do with the wall of bookshelves and wine rack (hidden behind that door)? Should we paint them? Ryan’s against it, but I thought it might be a good idea to have a little less “wood”- and since we don’t really want our dining room looking like a library, some ideas for interesting accessories to intersperse with the books would be great. Can’t wait to see what you suggest! -Lindsay
There’s nothing like an inviting and casual space with a few punchy pops of color to say “bon appetit,” so we whipped up this custom mood board for Lindsay and Ryan:
Now for the mood board breakdown.
Read the rest of this entry »
Island Style Freebie Winner!
Wow guys, way to show some major love for the So’mace Lifestyle pillows during our latest giveaway. We know the sweet So’mace folks were super flattered to see over 600 of you vying to snag a bit of the aloha spirit for your sofa. And of course we loved hearing about all of your fun honeymoons (whether past, planned or “anything’s possible”). We found ourselves wondering if it’s too soon to go on a second honeymoon already. It has been a year and a half…
As you know, only one randomly-selected person was chosen to score their choice of the handmade pillows above. But before we announce our big winner, So’mace has generously offered a discount to Young House Love readers. Get 20% off your purchase of two or more pillows by mentioning this contest when you order (they retail for $120 each before discount, btw). Virtual orders are currently accepted by email, so contact them at lifestyle@somacedesign.com to grab yours. And be sure to check out the full (amazing) collection here and here.
Now on to our winner… the pillow goes to… Erin from Vancouver! Erin said she’s leaning towards a Parisian honeymoon when the time comes, but after cuddling up to her new handmade pillow perhaps she’ll be swayed to head to a certain series of islands in the Pacific (hint, hint). Congrats!
Thanks again to everyone for playing along. We’ve always got our eyes out for new stuff to give away, so stay tuned for another chance to score some free swag.
More info on our giveaway policies is available here. All images courtesy of So’mace Lifestyle and Kaypee Soh.
A Video Tour Of Our Nest
You may have seen the old, grainy video house tours that we shot a while back using our decade-old, YouTube-averse camcorder. If you did, forget them. Pronto. And instead, head over to The Nest’s TV On Demand page to check out a new and (key word) professional video tour of our home (watch it here). It puts those other camcorder run-ins to shame… so much so that we’re not going to talk about them anymore. Agreed?
The fine folks over at The Nest stopped by a little while ago to tape the tour, which involved a pretty full afternoon of videotaping and doing our best to keep the cheeseball factor to a minimum. Both Sherry and I (yes, I was allowed to be in front of the camera for this one) described our favorite rooms, DIY projects and style hints while the cameras rolled (and rolled, and rolled). I think we both managed to sound coherent, but Burger still ended up stealing the show with his sneaky chihuahua antics. We should’ve known…
We hope you guys enjoy the tour (again, you can see it here). We’re thrilled with the final product, so a big “THANKS” to all the great people over at The Nest for inviting us to do the tour and putting together such an entertaining finished product. Burger sends dog kisses your way.
Save It: Part 2
After more than a few requests, we’re back to share a few more cheapo tips for keeping money in your wallet. We dished out a bunch of moolah saving tips here a while back, and also posted about paring down and keeping things simple (which also helps beef up the ol’ bank balance). And since we still can’t help but cling to our pennies (and cross our fingers before we open our Target bill), we thought sharing a few more of the things that save us the most loot might help you guys too. Here we go…
Cheapola Tip #1- Dollar Dinners. We eat at home almost every night of the week, but there’s always room for improvement when it comes to the grocery store checkout counter. Inspiration struck when I was reminiscing about how cheaply I lived back in my NYC dorm days (surviving mainly on microwave soft pretzels and the ever popular fifty cent bag of Ramen Noodles). I certainly didn’t wanna go back to that, but I could take inspiration from my one dollar dinners or yore and devote one night to eating a super simple dish that literally costs around a buck. Now at least once a week we enjoy spaghetti night. What’s on the menu? Angel hair & pasta sauce. That’s it. No side salad, no shrimp, no vodka sauce, no meatballs. Since it’s just one day a week it hardly seems like a punishment (and we’re sure to get our veggies at lunch). In fact it’s kinda fun. And now our bag of shrimp stretches a little further and we purchase less chopped meat than we used to. For extra credit we just might add vegetables with brown rice to the weekly agenda (a frozen bag of veggies + some rice= a whole lotta savings over time).
Cheapola Tip #2- Post Your Goals. I actually read about this super inspirational idea in this month’s Women’s Health: keep your credit cards in an envelope and write your financial goals on the outside. My adaptation of it was to stick a post-it note in my wallet on top of the slots that hold my credit cards so I’m forced to read it before I whip out my cards. Penning things like “pay off the house in ten years” and “save up for an organic mattress” really keeps purchases in perspective- and nips any unnecessary spending in the bud.
Cheapola Tip #3- Go For Four. Four days a week (usually Monday-Thursday) John and I make a conscious effort not to spend a cent. We actually heard Suze Orman encouraging people to go one day a week without spending a penny (no morning paper, no Starbucks coffee, no nothing) but for two seasoned cheapskates like us, we thought we could try for four. The majority of our errand running is done on the weekend, so it’s really not that hard. John takes the two-minute-longer-toll-free route to work, we read the news online instead of buying a paper, and we both eat homemade breakfasts, lunches (John brown bags his) and dinners. We also limit our trips on those days so we’re not tempted to break the rules and we also occasionally pick up something on the weekend to keep us motivated (like a $2 box of chai tea that we can make at home all week to keep the Starbucks withdrawl at bay).
Cheapola Tip #4- DIY One Thing. Anything from the aforementioned homemade chai to doing your own nails counts. As long as you’re taking on one thing you used to pay someone to do for ya, you’re officially DIYing your way to some serious savings. Other ideas: wash your own car, make your own face mask with kitchen ingredients, get books and movies for free at the library, or even whip up your own cleaning products.
Cheapola Tip #5- Save The Date. They say the best things in life are free, and I think that’s especially true when it comes to date night. Commit to one free date with your man once a week. Not only will it keep you busy (and keep cash in your wallet) it will genuinely make you both feel great. We love to go for long walks, hikes, and bike rides or tour a free landmark, museum or gallery. Other ideas: hit up garage sales or open houses just to browse, spend an afternoon reading at Barnes & Noble, listen to music and play your favorite board game or spend the night in your guest room- it’s like a vacation at home.
Cheapola Tip #6- Break Out The Magnifying Glass. Take a good look at everything that you spend money on and think twice about it. There are certainly lots of bills that will pass inspection, but you just might realize that you’re hardly getting your money out of Netflix these days (movies go unwatched for weeks) or that you no longer need your landline (now that you have your cell). And while you’re at it, you just might find that consolidating your cell phones to a family plan or sweet talking the cable company will really end up saving you a bundle.
Cheapola Tip #7- Grow Your Own. Save some dough this planting season by starting herbs, veggies and flowers from seeds. You’ll get a garden full of basil for the price of one serving at the supermarket. And a gorgeous floral cutting garden for less than the cost of one bouquet. Click here for a simple seed starting tutorial.
Now it’s your turn! We’d love to hear your penny pinching tips and tricks. Share and share alike.
For another great money saving strategy check out the envelope system here and here on Imperfect
Images courtesy of Fatima PTO, Taste.com and Elements In Time
